How to Write 谕 (yù) — Meaning “to instruct or an edict”

Imagine a person named "Yu" (俞) who is a teacher giving a speech (讠) to a class. The teacher's words are like an edict that everyone must follow, so remember "Yu's speech (讠) is an instruction (谕)."

Write the left radical 讠 first (two strokes: a dot and a horizontal stroke with a curve), then the right part 俞. The right part has 9 strokes: top is 人, then 一, 月 (but note the lower part of 月 is actually 冂 with two horizontal lines inside, not the full 月 character), and finally the bottom 刂. A common mistake is to confuse the right side with 俞 in other characters, so ensure the bottom is 刂, not 月 alone.

谕 (yù) means "to instruct" or "edict," and uses the speech radical 讠. 诫 (jiè) means "to warn" or "admonish" and also uses 讠, but its right side is 戒 (to guard against). 诬 (wū) means "to falsely accuse" and has the radical 讠 with 巫 (wizard). Visually, 谕 has 俞 on the right, while 诫 has 戒 and 诬 has 巫.

谕 is used in formal or historical contexts, often in compounds like 谕旨 (imperial edict) and 手谕 (handwritten decree). In modern Chinese, it appears in legal or official language, or when referring to ancient practices. For example, a parent might issue a 手谕 to a child, though this is very formal and old-fashioned.

Common words containing 谕 include: 谕旨 (yù zhǐ) — imperial edict; 告谕 (gào yù) — to proclaim; to notify; 手谕 (shǒu yù) — Handwritten decree or order..